


A Favored Paid in Kind

by TimMcGee



Category: Not Another D&D Podcast (Podcast)
Genre: Body Modification, Gen, Gods Bestowing Gifts, Hurt/Comfort, The Band of Boobs Just Need a Fucking Break, magic tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22077073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimMcGee/pseuds/TimMcGee
Summary: Sometimes you get a little more than you bargain for when you start worshipping other gods.
Relationships: Beverly Toegold & Pelor (Dungeons & Dragons), Beverly Toegold & The Dusk Mother (Not Another D&D Podcast), Moonshine Cybin & Hardwon Surefoot & Beverly Toegold V
Comments: 7
Kudos: 24





	A Favored Paid in Kind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SandrC](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandrC/gifts).



> Based on Beverly's stellar religion rolls.
> 
> \- Will be editing later, just wanted to get this posted to start the year off -

Everyone can agree that it’s been a hellish few weeks of jumping from one battle to the next, barely even having time to rest in-between, much less take care of themselves. By the time they finally kill the last monster husk, Moonshine is even feeling gross with the amount of grime, guts, and soot they’ve all accumulated over the last couple of weeks. Depending on who’s judging the situation, it was a great thing that the last monster husk tried to attack Iron Deep as the Band of Boobs only have to finish trudging up the trail to enter relatively safety. MeeMaw and several high ranking Iron Deep dwarves stand at the entrance to welcome them in and bring them straight into the War Room to debrief and catch both sides up on everything that has happened since the destruction at the Astral Keep.

Hours later, MeeMaw finally either took pity on them or couldn’t stand the smell anymore and ended the meeting before leading them to the suite that they’ll be staying at till the next battle takes them away. MeeMaw gives them all hugs and promises to send food along soon but they’ll catch up in the morning after the Band has had a chance to get clean and rest up before heading back out. The Band is frozen for a moment, taking in the fact that they don’t need to be on guard, they fixed what they failed to stop in Hell, and they’re back with their allies, before moving to explore the rooms and go thru their supplies. By the time a knock on the door comes, the Band has spilled into the living area over the various furniture, quietly taking cleaning and taking care of their various weapons. Hardwon opens the door and happily takes the basket of food from the dwarf, before bringing it back to the group, who steadily demolish everything inside but slumping back with full bellies.

Groaning, Hardwon stands up stretching and lets out a satisfied hum as his back cracks, “Well, I don’t know about you guys but I’m ready to get fucking clean.” Listening to the various responses of agreement from the sprawled forms of what has truly become his family, Hardwon huffs a laugh, “Alright, alright. I’ll go get the bath started. I don’t know if anyone else looked earlier, but the bath is more of a pool so we all can definitely fit.” Beverly weakly lifts his arms in celebration while Moonshine gives a quiet “Whoo”.

By the time Hardwon sinks gratefully into the suds, the others start to trickle in various states of undress before joining him in the bath, each claiming their own corner and just soaking for a bit. Quiet cheer and championship fill the large chamber as the tired heroes being to scrub away the grime from the past weeks. Too soon the bathwater begins to cool and the bubbles begin to dissolve into the water.

“Hey, hey, Bev. Could you do a spell or something to warm this up?” asks Hardwon while flicking water at Beverly to get his attention.

“I can do it, Bev.”

“Nah, I got it Moonshine! I got that one spell from my fire daddy,” Beverly hoists himself out of the water, sitting on the ledge he casts Create Bonfire and directs the flame through the water carefully avoiding his friends. Soon as Hardwon and Balnor sink back into the water with satisfied groans and steam starts to waft off the top of the water again, Beverly ends the spells and dips his feet in with a happy hum.

“Ummmmm, Bev…This may be an awkward and intrusive question, but did you always have those freckles before?”

“Ahhaha [gesturing to his face] I have freckles mostly on my face which was probably hard to see under all the grime.”

“Ummm you sure about that Bev?”

“Yeeeeeah….why?”

“Ummmm cause they aren’t just on your face anymore…..and they’re kinda like….glowing.”

“Wha-what?” stutters Beverly as he looks at his chest and sees hundreds of something dotting across his chest. He quickly takes a handful of water and tries to scrub them off but they remain. Panic rising in his chest, Bev scrambles up and towards the bathroom to look in the mirror, ignoring the cries of “Bev!” and sounds of people getting out that follow behind him.

Moonshine quickly enters the bathroom to see Beverly frozen and shakily breathing. As Hardwon catches up, Moonshine carefully walks towards Bev and tries to soothe him by gently rubbing his back while Hardwon places a supporting hand on his shoulder. Beverly feels himself calming slightly as they join him, but he finds that he can’t draw his gaze from whatever is going on with his torso. Splattered across his chest with the denser concentration cutting from his right hip to his shoulder is the Astral Way, and as Beverly shifts, some of the freckles seem to glitter in the light. 

“Wha-what does this….why did this…what… Moonshine?!? Hardwon?!?”

“I…I don’t know Bev, but ummmm…there’s something else…I’d like you to try just to be sure if…if you’re comfortable with trying something else?”

“I…I don’t know Moonshine. This is already too much, what else is there?!?” Bev’s voice cracks as he feels his emotional wall start to break.

“Hey, hey, Bev. It’s gonna be alright. We’ll get this figured out! We’ve traveled to 4 different realms, you  saved the Green Knights, Moonshine brought me back to life like we’ll figure this out too!” comforts Hardwon as he kneels to look Bev in the eye as he firmly grasps Beverly’s shoulders, turning Bev away from the mirror and pulling him into a hug. As he feels Beverly shudder in his hold, Hardwon makes eye contact with Moonshine where they share their worry and concern over their little brother before she joins the hug. 

“Hardwon’s right bud, it’s gonna be alright,” says Balnor as he walks over from the doorway, resting a comforting hand on Bev’s head, before gently combing through Bev’s curls as they let Beverly take his time collecting himself. A while later Beverly sniffles as he lifts his head from Hardwon’s chest before wiping away some tears that had slipped out.

“So Moonshine,  _ sniff _ , um you had said you wanted me to try something?”

“Yeah Bev but only if you want to,” softly says Moonshine as she pulls back from the hug.

“It…it can’t hurt to try, hahaha…”

“Great! Hardwon! Can I borrow your hand?”

Hardwon immediately thrusts his hand at Moonshine, not even questioning why only to yelp as she bites it. Jerking it back, Hardwon gives Moonshine a reproachful look, “OW! Moonshine! Wha-?”

“Sorry, Hardwon. Ok, Bev heal Hardwon!”

Hardwon sulky glares at Moonshine, cradling his hand before giving it over to Bev while Bev gives Moonshine a Look and does a Healing Touch. As the magic moves from Beverly to Hardwon, it becomes abundantly clear what Moonshine was trying to make happen as more freckles across Beverly’s chest begin to glow brighter and shine like stars. Beverly slowly drops Hardwon’s hand as he stares at the night sky shining across his chest, frozen again in a mix of awe and terror as he wrestles with why and how this has happened to him. 

“Beverly….you got Moradin’s Molten River on your chest…”

“I was gonna say Melora’s Smoke, but you do you Hardwon.”

Chuckling weakly as his friends bicker above him, Beverly uses that familiar comfort to calm himself down from outright panic because if Moonshine can joke, then this situation isn’t as dire. Beverly takes a couple of calming breathes before inspecting himself in the mirror, taking in the dimming light of the star-freckles as he feels his magic settle inside himself though a few remain faintly glowing. 

“It’s...it’s actually the Astral Way…”

“Oh, Bev. It’ll be alright. Whatever that is, it’s beautiful and apart of you. It can’t be evil or bad or anything like that, cause you’re too good, Beverly. I’m sure if you pray to Pelor and I’ll try and ask Melora, we get an answer.”

“Thanks, Moonshine. That….that does help. And you’re right! I can pray to Pelor for help,” Beverly turns and hugs Moonshine hard before stepping away from them towards his pack and grabbing his sword.

“Ummmmm, what’cha doing there Bev?” nervously says Hardwon as they watch Beverly grab his sword then march determinedly over the bath room’s entrance. 

“Trying one last thing,” says Beverly as he plants himself just inside the bath room, takes a steadying breath before slashing at an imaginary foe and casting a Divine Smite. The large cavern flares with a bright light as the spell streaks across the room to splash harmlessly on the far wall, the light fading back to the light glow from the various torches inside. Beverly hurries back to the mirror and gasps along with Moonshine and Hardwon as the star-freckles shine even more than before and Bev sees that there’s even some running down his arms. As he marvels at the beauty as he shifts to see all of them, Beverly’s enchantment is broken by a large, calloused hand gently cupping the side of his face.

“Bev...they’re on your face too,” gently says Hardwon as he gently tilted Beverly’s face so he can see the star-freckles better. They spend the time it takes for the light to fade from his star-freckles marveling over them and occasionally chiming in when one of them picks out a constellation. 

With an uplifted mood now filling the air, the band heads back into the bedroom and dress for the night. As Moonshine and Hardwon settle on the one big bed and Balnor relaxes in the recliner, Beverly sets up a proper prayer circle for Pelor, something he hasn’t been able to do since before the Green Teen trip. Setting the mug full of beer in the center of the etched in sun with lit candles on the tips of each flame spiraling out from the center, Beverly leans back, resting on his knees and rests his hand with palms facing up on his thighs and begins to pray.

Breathing in and out, slowly loosening his muscles with every exhale, Beverly reaches for his fire within and letting it slowly full him before casting it out into the prayer circle. Connecting with each candle, Beverly begins his prayer asking for guidance/help/answers for this change to himself. As he sinks ever deeper and stretches his being outwards, Beverly feels the inner flames of his friends, and eventually, he feels himself fill the entire room. Spending a minute completely spread outwards, Beverly begins to pull back with every breath, slowly only encompassing the prayer circle again. 

As his flame reconnects with the candles, Beverly feels an ocean breeze blow across his face and the feeling of a warm sunbeam settles on his face and smiles knowing that Pelor is with him. Holding his connection steady, Beverly prays to Pelor for answers for his newest features. After asking Beverly feels a warm, comforting, fatherly hand briefly rest on his shoulder before ruffling his hair and fading away. Grinning, Beverly continues bringing his fire back inside before opening his eyes.

Springing up, Beverly tackles Hardwon and Moonshine from where they were on the edge of the bed into the middle of the bed laughing joyful, elated that everything is alright. Hardwon lets out a yelp as Moonshine starts laughing alongside Bev as they fall back into a clump. Through laughter and roughhousing, Beverly is able to explain to his friends that whatever happened to his is a 100% cool by Pelor’s standards and not to worry. Soon the laughter begins to die down giggles then to silence as one by one they start to drift off and Beverly is the last one to fall asleep as some questions still remain but comforted by the blessing from Pelor.

**********************************************************************************************

Beverly dreams of Shadowfell. Of wandering the dour landscape. Of the ground fading beneath his feet from being fog-covered to clearing fog and dark ground to seemingly to the end where the ground drops off into space. Looking around at the barren landscape behind him and the dark space ahead of him, Beverly takes a careful step forward and is surprised to feel something solid in the emptiness of space. After a couple more steps forward with nothing happening, Beverly cautiously keeps moving forward slowing getting distracted by the stars all around him as he walks. He so distracted by a nebula overhead that he misses the path fading quickly to a light gray color but he notices when he trips over a raised platform, crashing down onto his knees.

Groaning in pain, Beverly pauses for a moment hunched over his knees with for them to stop throbbing before standing again when a pair of feet come into his view. Looking up quickly, Beverly takes in the beautiful woman in a dark blueish-purple dress that’s reaching a hand out to help him up which he cautiously takes. As the lady helps him up, Beverly sees that her skin is a pale blue with random streaks of purples and yellow, and it clicks who this is.

“He-hello Dusk Mother,” Beverly says bowing over her hand.

“Hello Beverly Toegold,” She pulls Beverly further onto the platform towards a sitting area, “Come, I’ve been expecting you.”

“Ah, is everything alright? Oh! I’m sorry I sent my father to you without asking but!”

“Sssssh, Beverly, that’s not it.”

“Then...why have you brought me here?”

“What do you see when you look around here, Beverly?”

“I see stars, but what does tha… did you have something to do with what happened to me?”

The Dusk Mother smiles kindly at him as Beverly processes his feelings over this new information about the change to his body, “It’s a gift, Beverly.”

“A gift? What have I done to deserve a gift?”

She smiles and gently brushes the hair out of his face before cradling his face like it’s the most precious thing in the world, Bev is unable to not melt into her hands, and says in a soft soothing voice, “How could I not give my Father’s favored a gift when he has given me something infinitely more precious and meaningful with expecting nothing in return and just trusting in the good in the universe?”

“I...I just wanted to save my dad. Surely that’s something everyone would do, save a loved one?”

“Ah, Beverly, it takes a special type of person to protect those that have continually hurt them.”

“...but why stars then?”

“Because, Beverly Toegold the V, you are more than a beacon of good in a darkening world, you are the stars that guide people home. The stars that give the hurt comfort. The stars that give the lonely company. The stars that give wrongdoers pause. Most importantly, you are the stars that carry the hope of the people for a better tomorrow.” Beverly is openly crying as she explains and she gently brushes the tears away with her thumbs. As Beverly tries to collect himself, the Dusk Mother leans down and presses a gentle kiss onto Beverly’s forehead, a silent blessing to help Beverly find the strength to forgive himself.

Sniffling, Bev gives a wobbly, “Thank you,” as he gently breaks her hold on his face to start cleaning up the tears and collecting himself to express his gratitude even better for her kindness. The Dusk Mother easily spots what he’s trying to do and says, “None of that now. Just sleep well Beverly, and know that everything is alright. Be strong, our Gray Knight,” and just as Moonshine or his mother would do, brushes his hair out of his face and gives him another forehead kiss before booping him on the nose sending him away from this plane and into a deep dreamless sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm aware that technically as a paladin Beverly doesn't get any fire spells but since he was blessed by the fire elemental, he gets one in my world.


End file.
